My extended family is renting a villa for a week in Greve, Chianti, Tuscany next June. Before arriving in Chianti, my wife and I will have approx 7 days to ourselves. We decided to fly into Munich as we wanted to see Bavaria. Venice is on the back end as my wife wants to go there having never been. That plan seemed geographically logical, as it looks to be not too long of a train ride to Venice from Bavaria and a scenic one at that. We have been to Rome/Amalfi otherwise that would be a good choice pre-Tuscany. Here is what we know right now.

Day 1 (Saturday), arrive Munich 9AM
Day 2 open
Day 3 open
Day 4 open
Day 5 open
Day 6 Arrive Venice in the afternoon, via train (we prefer trains over cars where it makes sense)
Day 7 Venice
Day 8 Venice to Florence, via train, and renting car in Florence to drive to Chianti. (or should we rent in Venice, drive all the way to Chianti?)

We know the dangers of trying to cram too much into too little time. We are all about seeing fewer places but seeing them well and not rushing around, spending lots of time driving, etc. Im not certain in 5 days we could see both Munich and the desirable areas south of there without being rushed. But flying into Munich, I feel like we should spend at least some time there. Although we will come back to this area someday.

I have done some reading on Bavaria south. The areas around Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgaden look very appealing. My wife thinks she would like to see Salzburg so perhaps we focus our time around Berchtesgaden.

We have not formed any specific ideas of what we want to see but what we enjoy the most on European vacations (at a medium to slow pace) are small villages, hiking, churches, estates/castles, soaking up the local culture, and beautiful scenery all of which seem plentiful in Bavaria. We do not usually prioritize musuems, arts, etc.

Any advice, help, guidance would be appreciated for days 1-6. And also car vs train from Venice to Florence.
Thank you.

The "Romantic Road" that starts up in Wurzburg, goes through Rothenburg ob der Tauber and several other Medieval towns, and ends near Neuscwanstein Castle in Fussen would be an EXCELLENT choice!!
Look up "Romantic Road" in the search box for more information

If you are going to do Berchtesgaden, AND are interested, I suggest the "Eagle's Nest Tour" as something to consider doing. You might also like visiting the nearby koenigsee.

On the way to Salzburg (but better done as a day trip from Munich) would be the largest of all the Ludwig structures and that is the palace at Herrenchiemsee which is truly a "miniature Versailles." It is not as heavily visited by "foreign" tourists as Linderhof or Neuschwanstein but is a big favorite amongst the German population. Easily reached by rail.

If you enjoy any/all of the palace stuff then within Munich itself I would strongly recommend a visit to the Residenze (for the Ludwig carved carriage collection if nothing else) and possibly a visit to Schloss Nymphenberg.

Regardless, enjoy your trip.

I've done the train from Munich to Venice several times and it will take you over the Brenner Pass and through the Dolomites which is fairly scenic. You can also make connections from Salzburg. There used to be at least one direct, if not two, trains per day; otherwise a change in Verona is usually required.

One thing to consider about training vs. driving from Venice to Florence is the length of time you'll need the car in Tuscany. A weekly rental is usually the most cost-effective, so if you'll need the car for a week in Tuscany, you could take the train to Florence. On the other hand, if picking up your car in Venice would give you a full week's rental, you could take that option. So check the rates both ways with your rental company. Are you using AutoEurope?

For Bavarian itineraries, type <Wes Fowler> into the search box at the top of the page and many posts from the archives will appear on the left-hand side of your screen. Wes, who died last year, was one of our Bavarian experts.

In the FWIW category, I find the areas around Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgaden so "touristically perfect" that you know they look that because that's what tourists expect, not because that's how they live. One almost expects the locals to play their tubas and glockenspiels on the way to work, while slapping their heels, then their knees, then snapping their lederhosen as they dance to work. Having said that, they are pretty. But a seven day dose of that for me would be like the time I took a test for diabetes, drinking about 12 ounces of corn syrup.
Allowing for my predjudice here, I'd allow 2 days for the whole Garmisch/Berteshgarten/Ettal/ Neuschwanstein/Mittenwald thing, maybe 3 days for the Wurzburg/Rothenburg/ Neresheim trip. Another area is Lindau/Konstanz, on the Bodensee. Enjoy!

But a seven day dose of that for me would be like the time I took a test for diabetes, drinking about 12 ounces of corn syrup.

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Be careful of the advice you get here, like the above comment. This is wrong. Bavaria is great and well worth the time.